Author: Glen Berd

‘Life-saving’ nose spray that kills 99.9% of viruses begins production in Israel Health Ministry-approved labelling says antiviral is effective within 2 minutes; can save many lives in countries without access to vaccines, says inventor   Gilly Regev, an Israeli-raised scientist who co-founded the company SaNOtize, uses the new nasal spray she developed A nasal spray that will be marketed as capable of killing 99.9 percent of virus particles has started rolling off production lines in an Israeli factory.   The spray could have prevented much of the world’s COVID-19 infection, its inventor, Dr. Gilly Regev, told The Times of Israel. “We are hoping that our nasal spray will now save many lives of people in countries that are waiting for the vaccine,” said Regev, an Israeli-raised biochemist who co-founded the company SaNOtize and developed the spray in Canada. “This will be affordable and can be used for prevention, to protect from any respiratory viral infection.” She said that it has been shown to be effective in the lab...

The Isolation Seder of the Lubavitcher Rebbe by Rabbi Pini Dunner One of the issues that has been coming up again and again in the past week [in March 2020] is the realization that people will be on their own for the Passover Seder this year, or their Seder will be drastically reduced in numbers, with children or parents elsewhere, all isolated in the midst of the current corona virus social-distancing self- quarantine situation which is so important to prevent the spread of the disease. Some people even will literally be by themselves, solitary, with no one to do the Seder with at all. How can we do Seder by ourselves?” they ask me. “Doesn’t the Pesach Seder need to be done with family and guests?” In order to address everyone’s concerns, I would like to share an extraordinary conversation with you that I had about eighteen months ago. I happened to be at the engagement party of the daughter of a friend of...

The Nazi-Fighting Women of the Jewish Resistance By Judy Batalion Dr. Batalion is the author of the forthcoming “The Light of Days: The Untold Story of Women Resistance Fighters in Hitler’s Ghettos,” from which this essay is adapted.By They went undercover, smuggled revolvers in teddy bears and were bearers of the truth. Why hadn’t I heard their stories? In 1943, Niuta Teitelbaum strolled into a Gestapo apartment on Chmielna Street in central Warsaw and faced three Nazis. A 24-year-old Jewish woman who had studied history at Warsaw University, Niuta was likely now dressed in her characteristic guise as a Polish farm girl with a kerchief tied around her braided blond hair. She blushed, smiled meekly and then pulled out a gun and shot each one. Two were killed, one wounded. Niuta, however, wasn’t satisfied. She found a physician’s coat, entered the hospital where the injured man was being treated, and killed both the Nazi and the police officer who had been guarding him. “Little Wanda With...

Under the auspices of the Jewish Small Communities Network : “Connecting Small Histories” takes the bold step of drawing the footprint of Jewish life in what are now small or former communities across the United Kingdom. Through stories and memories we identify the Jewish legacy in the local economies and culture, beginning with six very different locations, Eastbourne, St Annes, Bradford, Sunderland, Cumbria and Somerset. After almost twelve months of work, our History Festival begins the telling of these “Small Histories”, bringing both them and a wide selection of projects from our Heritage Hub to a wider public. Our programme brings together story tellers, academics, our volunteer researchers and the research team, to paint a picture of Jewish life and heritage spread wide across the country, in towns and countryside. Click on the Link below for the 'History of St.Anne's' by renowned historian Hilary Thomas youtu.be/hA3FnnFHQRM  ...

How a picture in a newspaper unlocked childhood mysteries for two Holocaust survivors Marion Ein Lewin and her twin brother, Steven Hess, around 6 years old, in Amsterdam. (Family photo) Listen to this story Last spring, when the pandemic forced a global lockdown, Holocaust survivor Marion Ein Lewin wrote a moving piece for The LA Times, extolling the power of the human spirit and calling on everyone to summon their strength and resilience. “Celebrating Passover during the COVID-19 pandemic brings back memories of Seders spent in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, starting when my twin brother and I were 6 years old,” began Lewin’s op-ed. “At 82, we are in all likelihood the last surviving twins of the Holocaust — in any case, a shrinking remnant of the 5% of Jews from Holland who were deported to Nazi camps and returned.” The commentary was accompanied by a black-and-white photograph, supplied by Lewin of her and her brother, Steven Hess, shortly before their entire family was arrested in 1943...

Seeds of Redemption are Sprouting By Rebbetzin Anna Bergson   As Published in this weeks edition of the  Jewish Weekly Remember the good old days when you were dancing at a Simcha...it didn't matter who's clammy hand grasped yours as everybody in the circle was equal, a unified mass. It's been over a year now and we've all been through so much. With the vaccine roll-out providing a way out of lock-down we are slowly getting back to 'normal'. However it's bizarre that this doesn't feel anything like our old normal. Usually when we've been through a trauma we allow ourselves time to process the experience - to talk it through, to heal. However picking ourselves up post-Covid and resuming our  business as usual attitude I can't help feeling there's an elephant in the room? Feeling the global pain and suffering over the Covid year I have tried to find a link to each upcoming Yom Tov and Moshiach - surely the time is upon us?! The Rambam teaches us...

10 things you probably didn't know about Blackpool Helicopter view of Blackpool - Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto One of Britain's most famous seaside towns has a rich history and regularly attracts visitors from all over the world.  Here are 10 things you may not know about the Lancashire town.  1. Blackpool gets its name from an old drainage channel that would release dark boggy water into the Irish Sea where it would literally form a black pool of water. Dublin, which is situated on the other side of the sea, is named for the very same thing, ‘Dubh Linn’ means black pool in Irish. 2. Notorious serial killer and bigamist George Smith murdered his second wife Alice Burnham while on their honeymoon to Blackpool, the killings soon became known as the ‘Brides in the Bath Murders’. 3. Each chandelier at the Blackpool Tower Ballroom can be lowered to the floor (the process taking 30 minutes) and it takes a six-person team a week to clean. The Famous Blackpool Tower and lights along the stretch of promenade...

Euphoria In Israel As Pfizer Vaccine Ends Lockdown In Israel, with 4 million of its near 7 million adults vaccinated, the country is revelling in its reopening, Financial Times (FT) reports. The country was vaccinated with the BioTech/Pfizer jab. One million people are currently waiting on their second jab. But for the time being, the country is awash in celebration, with people everywhere drinking and making merry, according to the account of things from FT. The report describes restaurants and bars fully open again after almost a year and people kissing and hugging in celebration. FT writes that the speed shows a promising future for the rest of the world as the vaccines continue to roll out. The report notes that over 6,000 Israelis died of COVID-19. And despite the newfound vaccinations, there are still numerous storefronts shuttered, people out of work and beggars at traffic lights. The country faced a strict and long 139-day lockdown and, at the peak of the pandemic, around one in three...